Guest Editorials

You’ve heard, no doubt, of the miraculous Mediterranean diet, which is said to keep Italians and Greeks living healthy lives into their 80s and beyond. The Japanese diet is popular, too, as the Japanese live the longest lives in the world.

Then there’s the Nordic diet, full of fish and dairy, that helps make longevity in Sweden and Norway among the longest in the world.

Countless studies have tried to identify the critical ingredients in these diets. Should we eat grilled squid like the Greeks? Or more lingonberries like the Swedes?

Immediately following a report by the New York Times that he allegedly sexually assaulted numerous women throughout his career, Harvey Weinstein threatened to sue the Times for defamation. For First Amendment legal scholars, this comes as no surprise. There’s a long history of powerful bullies attempting to use the legal system to silence their critics.

These types of lawsuits, most commonly called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), are used to silence and harass critics by forcing them to defend these baseless but costly suits. SLAPP filers don’t go to court to seek justice. Rather, SLAPPS are intended to intimidate the target by draining their financial resources and dragging them through years in the court system.

Lance Westcamp may be one of the few small-town mayors in central Ohio that can be found driving his tractor down Main Street and he is certainly the only one with an office full of champion hog banners from around the country.

“I was born and raised on a farm just south of Groveport. I graduated from Groveport high school in ’75. I farmed 4,500 acres with my dad and brother — most of it rented — in mid-70s and my dad always had a commercial sow herd of 50 to 75 sows. Even the farm we lived on was leased from the state. Most of that ground now is warehouses,” Westcamp said. “We were losing acres to development so my brother and I got outside jobs in late-80s and early 90s. I continued to farm until 2013, but by then most of everything was being custom farmed.”

With the future of the Franklin County farm destined for development as Groveport (and nearby Columbus) continued to grow, Westcamp thought he would give politics a try.